KFC antibiotics-tainted chicken destroyed in China

The case of antibiotics-tainted chicken of Yum Brands Inc., parent company of KFC, has been placed on file for investigation, according to a statement from the Shanghai Food and Drug Administration on Friday.

It was reported in late December that some chicken farmers in east China’s Shandong Province had been feeding their chickens excessive quantities of antibiotics, including amantadine and ribavirin, to ensure that they would survive in overcrowded chicken coops.

The chickens were then sold to Shandong Liuhe Group and Yingtai Co., suppliers of KFC.

The report triggered nationwide concerns over the safety of KFC’s fried chicken, especially in Shanghai, where the chain restaurant has about 300 outlets that receive a great deal of their raw chicken from Shandong.

An overall investigation was conducted jointly by the Shanghai Municipal Food Safety Committee, the Shanghai Food and Drug Administration and local Public Security Bureau.

The Shanghai Food and Drug Administration took 32 samples of raw chicken products from a logistics center belonging to Yum Brands Inc., and its subsidiary KFC, in Shanghai.